NEA: This Active Life -- March 2003
NEA: This Active Life -- March 2003
This Active Life -- March 2003
A Message from the President
Archives
Table of Contents:
March 2003
- Cover Story
Reclaiming Hope
- President's Message
- Letters
- Member Profiles
- People
- News Briefs
- Books
- Ask the Expert
- Computers
- Health
NEA and NEA-Retired--Together and Growing
Chances are, you got into public education because you had a passion for helping children. And you joined NEA because the Association held the promise of helping you do your best for the benefit of America's children.
NEA-Retired holds a similar vision. We continue to support the worthy goals of Active teachers and support professionals, because our passion for helping public education has never wavered. NEA-Retired is a strong advocate for programs and initiatives that support a quality and productive life in retirement. These programs benefit not only current retirees but also those who will join our ranks down the road.
Now, NEA-Retired faces increasing competition from other organizations seeking Retired educators as members. One of our most pressing concerns is making sure Active and Retired educators know more about NEA-Retired and how it can help them live more productive lives. We've heard numerous accounts of Active and Retired educators being recruited by competing organizations that do not have the priorities of public education as their focus. Many folks are confused about which organization they should join when they retire.
Let's set the record straight. NEA-Retired is the only national retired organization affiliated with NEA, dedicated to the mission and goals of NEA; the only one that puts the needs of children and public education first. No other organization has the membership and resources we have--the 205,000 dedicated members of NEA-Retired and the 2.7 million Active NEA members with whom we join hands as advocates for strong pensions, health care, and quality public schools.
In the upcoming year, you'll continue to see the results of our efforts to sharpen NEA-Retired's identity. The more we get the message out, the better the chance the NEA team--Active and Retired members alike--will succeed in its worthy mission in "making public schools great for every child."
--NEA-Retired President Jim Sproul
NEA: This Active Life -- March 2003
NEA: This Active Life -- March 2003
This Active Life -- March 2003
People
Archives
Table of Contents:
March 2003
- Cover Story
Reclaiming Hope
- President's Message
- Letters
- Member Profiles
- People
- News Briefs
- Books
- Ask the Expert
- Computers
- Health
Cuddling for Fun and Health
What parent doesn't wax nostalgic about the bliss of cuddling a newborn infant? Let's face it, only the sweet murmur of a baby sleeping on your shoulder gets you through the night feedings and foul-smelling diapers.
Arizona member John Campbell isn't a new dad, but he's head-over-heels
in love with his volunteer assignment as a "cuddler" of premature infants born
at the Thunderbird Samaritan Medical Center in Glendale.
"It's heaven," says Campbell, now in his third year as president of the Arizona Education Association-Retired. "The cuddlers, the nurses, and the babies all benefit from the program." Under the supervision of a developmental nurse specialist, the volunteers cuddle newborns who are born prematurely or face other issues, such as absent parents or a drug addiction.
"The human touch and the rocking is very beneficial to the babies," Campbell says. "They're often cranky, and when you rock them, that quiets them right down." Campbell is a volunteer cuddler once a week for four hours. He also volunteers at a hospital information desk another four hours a week (a post he held prior to being chosen as a cuddler).
After going through a training program, John's first assignment was cuddling Brandon, who was born three months premature and weighed just two pounds. "I had a thought that maybe I can't do this," he confesses. But Brandon gradually made strides and was ready to go home when he reached four-and-a-half pounds.
Campbell says he also leaves the hospital feeling better. "I've had two heart attacks, and I can tell when I'm quietly cuddling a child it brings my blood pressure down and I'm much calmer. I told one of the nurses that maybe [cuddling] should be part of heart attack rehabilitation!"
Frontier Teacher
Nebraska member Janet Gardner takes students back to a time
when math was called arithmetic and cold pancakes or potatoes were the lunch
of choice.
It's still 1888 at the Flowerfield School in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, where Gardner has served as a "school marm" for four years. Rebuilt on the grounds of a museum, the school now serves groups of fourth graders who visit to walk in the shoes of real frontier schoolchildren. Since 1987, more than 10,000 students have taken part in the unique curriculum, which is offered each fall.
Always striving for authenticity, Gardner dons a bonnet, brings her lunch in a pail, and wears a dress of her grandmother's. The students are to "sit up straight, with feet to the floor." Gardner is always asked about the dunce cap that sits on a stool; fortunately, she's never had to use it. It does spark a discussion on discipline in the late 1800s, when misbehavior was cause for a spanking or a rap on the knuckles with a pointer. Before lunch, students wash their hands with lye soap, and they aren't allowed to bring items like bottled soda or processed, packaged foods. In addition to working on their penmanship, students read from McGuffey Readers (circa 1879) and have a spelling bee at the end of the day.
Gardner loves being a school marm, and after 20 years of teaching she says she's still learning about
